What’s happening now?

On October 23, we held a community briefing about Eastlake-specific plans for the RapidRide Roosevelt project with the Eastlake neighborhood. At this meeting we:

Shared information about the bicycle facility proposed for the Eastlake neighborhood, the multiple options SDOT considered for locating the bicycle facility, and the evaluation criteria used to measure those options.

Shared potential strategies to address the loss of parking and impacts to the curbspace in the Eastlake neighborhood, and discuss opportunities for future involvement to discuss parking management.

Reviewed the project timeline, including next steps for the environmental review process.

Note: The RapidRide Roosevelt project is contingent on FTA Small Starts grant funding, as well as funding opportunities from other partner agencies.

Overview

The RapidRide Roosevelt Project will provide a high-quality service connecting Downtown Seattle with the neighborhoods of South Lake Union, Eastlake, University District, and Roosevelt. We’re partnering with King County Metro (KCM) to enhance transit connections and upgrade existing bus routes to Metro RapidRide service. Upgrading service will keep people moving by

Keeping buses frequent and on-time

Adding more buses at night and on weekends

Upgrading to Metro RapidRide bus stops with lighting, real-time arrival info, and more

Improving sidewalks and paths for people walking and people riding bikes

We’re working to balance the needs of everyone who uses the corridor, whether they’re in a bus, a car, walking or riding a bike.

Purpose and Need

The overall purpose of the RapidRide Roosevelt project is to improve transit travel times, reliability, and capacity to increase high-frequency, all-day transit service and enhance transit connections between Downtown Seattle and the Belltown, South Lake Union, Eastlake, University District, and Roosevelt neighborhoods, in order to:

Address current and future mobility needs for residents, workers, and students

Address capacity constraints in the transportation network along this north-south corridor

Provide equitable transportation access to major institutions, employers, and neighborhoods

An additional purpose of the project is to improve pedestrian and bicycle connections and access to RapidRide stations and improve safety along the corridor.

The Roosevelt corridor has been identified as a high-priority corridor for meeting the following transportation and community needs:

Provide Transit Service to Support Housing and Employment Growth. Significant growth in both housing and employment is underway for the five neighborhoods (Belltown, South Lake Union, Eastlake, University District, and Roosevelt) within the project corridor and Downtown Seattle. Based on population and employment projection data from Puget Sound Regional Council, by 2035, the area within approximately 0.5 mile of the corridor is forecasted to grow by over 22,000 residents (29 percent) and 91,000 employees (50 percent), for a total of over 98,000 residents and 274,000 jobs. There is inadequate capacity on existing bus service to support the planned development.

Provide Neighborhood Connections to Future Link Light Rail Stations. Connectivity and capacity within the corridor are limited due to geographic and existing infrastructure constraints. Currently there is no direct rapid transit connection between the five neighborhoods and downtown Seattle. King County Metro Routes 67 and 70 provide service, but they travel in congested traffic lanes and require a passenger to transfer to another bus line to reach downtown Seattle. These limitations result in long transit times and unreliable schedules, reducing riders' ability to make connections and discouraging ridership. To accommodate the planned growth and increase in density along the corridor, there is a need to provide better connections to existing and future Link light rail stations, existing and future RapidRide lines, and regional and local bus routes.

Improve Transit Travel Time and Reliability Throughout the Corridor. Congestion is causing delays in transit travel time and negatively affecting transit reliability. The existing transit travel time in the corridor during the peak periods is up to 20 to 30 percent slower than off-peak hours. The slower transit travel time during the peak periods negatively affects reliability and result in over 30 percent of transit trips in the corridor running late during morning and evening peak periods. By 2021, without improvements in the corridor, the PM peak delay in transit travel time is expected to increase by almost 14 minutes (17 percent increase) for trips along the entire corridor.

Reduce Overcrowding of Existing Bus Capacity. Over 20 percent of those within approximately 0.5 mile of the corridor already use transit, with even higher transit usage in Downtown Seattle and the University District neighborhood. Passenger loads currently exceed seated capacity along the corridor on 32 percent of daily trips and more than 63 percent of trips during the morning peak period. For the existing routes that provide transit service in the corridor between Downtown and the University District, average weekday ridership is expected to increase by 35 percent (i.e., from 4,770 riders per day in 2015 to 6,450 in 2035).

Improve Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety and Connections to Transit. With significant transit service and dense, walkable neighborhoods, there is a high level of pedestrian and bicycle activity along the corridor, yet several intersections have above-average rates of bicycle and pedestrian collisions with vehicles. From 2010 to 2014, six intersections along the corridor were reported to have three or more pedestrian injury collisions and five intersections with four or more bicycle collisions with injuries. The City of Seattle Bicycle Master Plan recommends protected bicycle lanes as one of the highest priority bicycle network investments, given the geographic constraints and limited bicycle route alternatives to the corridor. Additionally, numerous sidewalks and intersections do not meet current City of Seattle standards and do not comply with the ADA.

Schedule

Timeline

Activities/Milestones

November 2014

Identify existing conditions in the corridor and conduct mode analysis

July 2015

Identify transit line characteristics

June 2016

Present a Recommended Corridor Concept

June 2017

Publish Locally Preferred Alternative

December 4, 2017 - January 12, 2018

Project Scoping

October 23, 2018

Eastlake neighborhood project briefing

2017-2021

Continue project design

2019

Publish Environmental Assessment for community review

2020

Anticipated date to finalize environmental document

2021

Anticipated construction start date

As soon as 2024

RapidRide Roosevelt service begins

Funding

This project is partially funded by the 9-year Levy to Move Seattle, approved by voters in 2015. Additional funding is being sought through a partnership with King County Metro and a Federal Transit Administration Small Starts Grant.

How can I get involved?

We're always interested in meeting with community and neighborhood groups that want to learn more about the project and make their voices heard. You can request a briefing by emailing RapidRide@seattle.gov or calling (206) 684-5189.